How the sweet treat worth £ 15 became a viral

While on vacation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last week, there was only one mission in my mind – to get caught up for the Dubai Chocolate Virus Bar.

If you are on Tiktok, you will see a bar that combines the aromas of chocolate, pistachio and tahini with a phil cake and is inspired by the Arabian dessert KNAFEH.

The original, called it cannot receive KNAFEH from it, from Fix Chocolatier, has been sold exclusively in the UAE since 2022. It has become so popular on social media that it is sold only two hours a day and is often sold within minutes.

But now imitations known by the nickname “Dubai Chocolate” have hit supermarkets in the UK, including Waitrose, Lidl and Morrisons, with some supermarkets Limiting the number of bars Customers have the right to buy.

Jesen Alany, who owns a correction with his wife, Sarah Hamuda, told the BBC that the global attention that Dubai chocolate receives is “flattering and humble”.

The FIX chocolate bar was first introduced by the Hamuda in 2021, which thirsty for the scents while pregnant.

Alans and Hamuda began to develop a bar a year later, managing the business along with their corporate jobs.

“Sarah and I were brought up in the UK and moved to Dubai 10 years ago, so we have Western and Arabic roots.

“We wanted to create scents that were inspired by it,” Alany says.

Part of the attractiveness of chocolate is its exclusivity – you can only order it using a food delivery application instead of entering a store or catching it in the supermarket.

It costs about £ 15 per bar and can only be purchased at certain times of the day to ensure that the company can fulfill all its orders.

I also saw similar bars sold in many stores in the region called “Dubai chocolate” and decorated with pictures of pistachios and phils.

Alany says the Copycat bars are “very disappointing because people are trying to fuck, which harms our brand.”

One of the reasons for the increase in the popularity of the bar is social media – with a viral video By the Tiktok user Maria Wehera Since 2023, it has been cited as one of the main reasons for its rise to prominence.

This shows that Vuchera tried the Knafeh bar for the first time – along with several others made of the same chocolate – and were liked nearly seven million times.

The way the bar looks is made for social media – from the attractive orange and green spots on top of the smooth milk chocolate to the sound of the crunch it makes when you tear off a piece.

Chocolate, combined with pistachio, is not new, but the true element of distinction is the crispy nature of the filling, with the philo cake adding texture and thickness to the bar.

As it cannot receive the Knafeh of IT BAR is only available in one country, other brands have started selling their versions in the UK, including Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt, whose chocolate in Dubai is sold for £ 10 in supermarkets.

Since stocking the bar, Waitrose says they should have entered a two -bar limit for customers To regulate stock levels.

Another version has been sold by Home Bargains, while SuperMarket Lidl has its own version for £ 4.99 and also restricts the purchase number.

Influential documents how the tape is held behind withdrawal For this reason.

After I tried Lindt Bar and several other versions that are sold in corner stores, there is a lot of contrast.

The fixed chocolate is charged as a “dessert tape” and should be stored in the refrigerator, with a short expiration date like many dairy items.

This is not the case for the others who are designed to have a longer shelf life.

You can also see the difference in taste and texture – the original strip is almost a double width of the Lindt tape, which is more designed with the size and shape of a standard chocolate bar.

When Alany and Hamuda first started, they hired a man to execute about six to seven orders a day.

But as the popularity has grown, mainly thanks to Tiktok, their business now employs 20 people who perform 500 orders a day.

A big speaking point is the price of the product, which is 15 pounds per bar.

“Everything is handmade, every design is done by hand,” Alany says.

“We use first -class ingredients and the process is not like making a Cadbury bar – you have baking, forming chocolate to the design and with the filling itself, even pistachio is chosen by hand and processed.”

Speaking to the Arab business last year, Hamuda said, “My mother was doing Knafeh and this is something I wanted to capture my own way.

“Knafeh was the first scent we refined. The church, a pistachio, had to be correct,” she added.

Despite the success of the product, Alany says “this is a difficult trip” as the couple works together full -time while raising their two children.

“There were times when we wanted to give up, but we said” we will continue as long as we can pay the rent “and now we have no regrets as developed.”